Revamped blog!! and Cheesy Penne with Chicken :)

Hello Readers!!

This is Julia Townsend... aka Mrs. Hobo!  (If you all don't know, my hubby's nickname is Hobo and he has a vanity license plate on his car that reads: "Mr. Hobo").  Therefore, I am the Mrs. Hobo.  Anyway, I decided to get back into blogging to share some of my passions with others.  I love cooking, baking, shopping, couponing, crafting, etc.  I can't wait to share some of my adventures!!  I will post links to helpful blogs/sites as I go.  I already have a link for Southern Savers (a really great blog on couponing) and a link for my husband's gaming website, if any of you or your friends/family members play online games. 

For tonight, I am posting my recipe of the evening: Cheesy Chicken with Penne.  I am using this recipe for cheese sauce, but with five cheeses rather than just cheddar:

http://southernfood.about.com/od/cheeserecipes/r/bl30103x.htm

Here is a picture of my starting ingredients:






I also used some flour, garlic powder, onion powder, Mrs. Dash seasoning, salt and pepper in the sauce.

Next, I cooked the penne pasta in a large pot.  I always add a little salt to the water.  I noticed it helps keep the pasta from sticking together when they boil. 

Last, I cooked the chicken in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil, onion powder, Mrs. Dash, and pepper.  I cooked for about 7 minutes, then checked the inside of one of the chicken pieces.  It was still pink so I cooked a little longer.  Once finished, I added to the cheese sauce.  Lastly, I added one can of diced tomatoes (drained) to the sauce for flavor and veggies!  With all that cheese, you gotta get something healthy in there!

Here is a picture of the finished dish :)
mmm...looks and smells delicious!!!

Words of wisdom from my first time doing this recipe:
1. Pay attention when making the cheese sauce.  It can burn easily!
2. You may need more milk than listed in the recipe if you don't want really thick sauce
3. The noodles will get cold while sitting there so maybe do the noodle part last. 

I am just about to dig in!! I am very excited.  Hopefully the hubby will like it too!

Tomorrow I will post about my couponing adventures at Publix and also post the recipes/pictures of the meal I am preparing for someone in my church tomorrow! 

Thanks for reading :)